TP-LinkArcher C5 AC1200 / TP-LinkArcherC7 AC1750 / TP-Link TL-WDR7500

Dual Band (concurrent) and Gigabit Ethernet. Advertised as 1750 Mbps. It has simultaneous Triple-Stream (3×3) radios on both 2.4GHz and 5 GHz Bands. It supports 802.11n in 2.4GHz for 450Mbps throughput and IEEE 802.11ac (draft) for 1300Mbps throughput in 5GHz. Note: The editing history for this page is at Previous Archer C5/C7/WDR7500 page

While the ArcherC7 has been a very popular router over the years, it comes from a day long before high-speed home connections.

MIPS-based devices in this class can't keep up with high-speed lines and the features people now demand.

There are now multi-core, ARM-based devices in the same price class that far outperform the ArcherC7

The ArcherC7: available worldwide, has 3 internal (2.4GHz) and 3 external (5GHz) antennas.

The ArcherC7R (also called the TL-WDR7500): currently available in PRC only, has 6 external antennas.

WARNING: DO NOT install OpenWrt 17.03 or 18.06 on ArcherC7 v1.x (and WDR7500 v2.x), the AR1A (v1) variant of QCA9880 wifi card causes a bootloop as the ath10k driver crashes hard when trying to initialize wifi hardware. Also, in older OpenWrt releases the 5GHz 802.11a/n/ac wifi does not work (due to issues with the same wifi card).

QCA9880-BR4A (v2). v2.0 printed on serial label on packaging. TP-Link support say “V2 has improved chipset which is DFS certificated. The flash capacity is 16MB compared to 8MB of V1. V2 also fixed a few bugs on V1”. forumphotosstock firmwarewikidevi

ArcherC7v2.0

December 2015

Trunk (r47588), builds of 15.05.1 (r49220)

In late 2015 the V2 changed to flash chip gd25q128, affected serial numbers start with 215C or higher. The chip is supported in trunk as of r47588 and 15.05.1 as of r49220

NAT performance

Please be aware that OpenWrt firmware does not support the hardware NAT capability of these routers. Hence, the throughput between WAN↔LAN will be slower than with stock firmware. This is only important for users with highspeed internet connections, e.g. a 1G fibre connection. If your internet connection is ⇐200-300 Mbps you don't need to worry about this. But if you need faster NAT throughput, consider buying faster hardware.

Archer C5 1.20

The WAN→LAN throughput with native firmware: 485-490Mbps and drops to 305-310Mbps with hardware NAT disabled. After an hour of stress testing there were no signs of thermal throttling.

The thermal throttling could not be triggered even after covering the router with a blanket, case temperature: ~55-60°C.

ArcherC7 2.0

The WAN↔LAN throughput with OpenWrt Chaos Calmer RC3 was measured to be substantially lower than that of the native firmware. (450 to 500Mbps with OpenWrt vs. 750 to 800Mbps with native firmware, both measured under conditions close to ideal). See this thread for details.

More recent testing suggests that the venerable ArcherC7 (and other single-core, MIPS-based routers with ~720 MHz clock rates) are, under ideal conditions with no wireless or “unnecessary” services running limited to below about

SQM is commonly known as “bufferbloat management” or “QoS” and is often very valuable on consumer lines.

USB Support

The SoC hardware used here and in other devices appears to only support USB 2.0 devices; the OHCI driver (USB 1.0/1.1) does not detect any applicable hardware. Use of older/slower USB devices such as keyboards, mice, and UPS may require a USB 2.0 hub as an intermediary. See OpenWrt Ticket #15194 and #16505 for further details.

Installation

Quick Start Guide

Note: The ArcherC7V2.0's web interface does not accept the image .bin file unless you rename it to something with less dots; like openwrt.bin.

Download the correct version for your router from the tables below.

Note that if your router says US, EU, or IL on the sticker on the bottom, you might need a different image than the image linked in the tables below. The images in the table below are for “rest of world” routers. If you browse to the parent directory of the linked images, you'll see the appropriate US, EU, or IL .bin file.

connect your PC to a LAN port of the TP-link. If the default configuration was not changed, the DHCP on the router will give you a 192.168.0.X address and the TP-link web administration page is http://192.168.0.1/. (User: admin, Password: admin) Under 'System Tools' select 'Firmware Upgrade'. Browse to the previously downloaded *.bin file. Click Upgrade.

If the Webinterface tells you 'You have no authority to access this router!' that's because your browser does not send the correct HTTP referer header. Disable addons or use a different browser.

If the web interface tells you 'Please choose a file to upgrade', just rename the file to something shorter like openwrt.bin.

Set your password and configure the router through the web UI. Basic Config

Congratulations! You just installed OpenWrt on your Router!

Note: Factory default IP address range is 192.168.0.1 while OpenWrt uses 192.168.1.1 by default. If you have trouble accessing your router after initial flash, check that you have a 192.168.1.x IP address on your PC.

Installation of TP-LinkArcherC7V2

TP-Link are checking for the file signature in order to verify it. Once trying to flash OpenWrt you will encounter the following error:

Error code: 18005
Upgrade unsuccessfully because the version of the upgraded file was incorrect. Please check the file name.

For TP-LinkArcherC7v2.0, it is enough just to rename the factory image to something like factory.bin, then just upload it via the OEM web interface like a firmware upgrade. Note that if your router says US, EU, or IL on the sticker on the bottom, you might need a different image than the image linked in the tables above. The images in the table above are for “rest of world” routers. If you browse to the parent directory of the linked images, you'll see the appropriate US, EU, or IL .bin file. (tested by tp-linked on May 2018)

For TP-LinkArcherC7v2.1 it is enough just to rename the factory image to something like factory.bin, then just upload it like a firmware upgrade.

1.Download appropriate modified version of DDWRT that passes the TP-Link verification:

The most recent version is available in the DDWRT download section: http://dd-wrt.com/site/support/other-downloadsbetas → 2017 → most recent version like “09-27-2017-r33413” → tplink_archer-c7-v2. In this directory, select the factory-to-ddwrt appropriate for your country. There are three different versions - US version, General international and an Israeli version. Download the version suitable for your device.
Flash the DD-WRT firmware. Please note that TP-Link defaults to 192.168.0.1, but DD-WRT defaults to 192.168.1.1, so make sure to reconnect the Ethernet cable if your DHCP client cannot figure it out.

2.Flash TP-Link reverted FW:

Now you need to flash an older version of the vendor firmware, which doesn't check the file signatures.

3.Flash OpenWrt FW:

Download the firmware from the links in the tables above. Before flashing, rename the downloaded file to make it shorter and remove all dots except one, e.g. firmware.bin

Installation and upgrade of TP-LinkArcherC7 V3

(Updated and tested install on February 2020 by zenith828)

I followed the instructions for installing ArcherC7 V4 (see below) successfully.

I started with the most recent FW on the ArcherC7 V3 SW version 3.14.3 (release date 2015-05-08)
I upgraded to OpenWrt v19.07.1, but I used the binary named the ArcherC7v2, because that's what listed as the binary for the v3. This causes the Model to be listed as “TP-LinkArcherC7v2” on the status page. Hopefully this is the only issue.

I have not done extensive testing on it to ensure that all the functionality is working properly, but I have tested the wireless and everything seems to be in order.

I used newest TP-Link firmware when I did the update, in other words I had let TPLink update its original firmware first. This is probably not necessary. The 8 MBArcherC7v2 file will not install on the C7 v4.

On release 18.xx and later, wifi detect has been deprecated. Use wifi config instead - it will generate /etc/config/wireless for you.

Review Kernel log with dmesg. There can still be warnings like Direct firmware load for ath10k….bin failed, just make sure the device is properly detected in the end. Some firmwares reject to load unless you configure the wifi device country code to the value they suggest in the log (e.g. set option country 'US' in /etc/config/wireless).

If your timing is good, you can save your finger. On power-up, an ArcherC7v2 will do a “light test” and shortly thereafter the power (“sun”) light will go off. It will then start flashing several times per second, for a period of a couple seconds. If you're running a recent build of OpenWrt (tested in March 2018), during that window indicated by fast-flashing, a single click of the WPS/Reset button will get you into failsafe mode. Success in entering failsafe mode is indicated by the power light flashing even faster. If the power light goes to a slower flashing rate or steady on, the window to enter failsafe mode has closed.

Return to Factory Firmware

If you have accidentally flashed your V1 or V1.1 before realizing that the 5GHz network card will not be supported, and want to return it to factory firmware, you can follow the following instructions (tested on V1.1, harvested from other tp-link device wikis)

You should transfer the firmeware image to the /tmp folder and revert back to original firmware (if available you can flash the firmware via the webinterface as well):

Via the safer method using sysupgrade:

sysupgrade /tmp/tplink.bin

Or alternatively you can use the mtd method:

mtd -r write /tmp/tplink.bin firmware

TFTP Recovery (De-Bricking)

The serial-less TFTP recovery method for the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 also works for the ArcherC7 (confirmed on v1.1 and v2) and the Archer C5 (v1.20).

For firmware revisions before 3.14.1 (140929), the router looks for an IP address of 192.168.1.66 and a file named ArcherC7v2_tp_recovery.bin. Firmware 3.14.1 updates the bootloader to look for an IP address of 192.168.0.66 and a file named ArcherC7v3_tp_recovery.bin even on hardware v2 units, but may also load ArcherC7v2_tp_recovery.bin. Some v1.1 units may also look for ArcherC7v1_tp_recovery.bin. The model Archer C5 looks for the file ArcherC5v1_tp_recovery.bin.

Setup your computer to 192.168.0.66 or 192.168.1.66 as appropriate for your version (SubnetMask /24 = 255.255.255.0) and connect it to LAN1. Start TFTP server (e.g. tftpd-hpa on debian) and provide recovery file with it. An ArcherC7 will repeatedly try at 5-second intervals to connect to the TFTP server if you have the “wrong” address.

To activate TFTP Recovery press and hold WPS/Reset Button during powering on until WPS LED turns on.

For de-bricking with an OpenWrt image use the factory.bin image.
In case you are flashing back original firmware, make sure original firmware image name does not contain word boot → return_to_factory_firmware.

Note: the TFTP flashing process requires that the product hardware id and version in the new image header match those in the existing image in flash, otherwise the new image is rejected, flashing is cancelled and the bootloader proceeds to boot the old image. When this happens, the following output is seen on the serial console:

While this would be a fine safety feature in another context, it means the recovery process can reject a valid new image if the image in flash is corrupted. Unfortunately, such corruption can easily occur if the flashing process is interrupted: when an image is accepted, the flashing process first erases the whole space, which takes a while, and then writes the new image. If this process is interrupted during the erasure phase, the in flash header will appear as all 0xFF, and further recovery attempts will therefore fail because the header hardware id and version values will no longer match. If this happens, you'll need to try either a serial connection, or building an image with the header values overridden (in tp-link.mk set TPLINK_HWREV and TPLINK_HWID to 0xffffffff).

Update for debricking without serial on OpenWrt 19.07: After building your own image with the modified TPLINK_HWREV and TPLINK_HWID (you can also download mine here: https://github.com/danielschmalhofer/Important-Openwrt-Things/blob/master/archer_c7_ac1750_debricking.zip) you can flash with tftp the right image. You will see, if you hit the right one, when the blinking takes longer than normal. After that you will be able to access the router via terminal on root@192.168.1.1 - but take care, because for me the image was gone after a reboot. You will have to make a sysupgrade. But the sysupgrade via terminal will fail, because of the corrupting header-infos, and even -F will not help you. So install luci (opkg update && opkg install luci), login via http://192.168.1.1 and upgrade the system via the web interface - there the Force option works.

Recovery using serial connection

Connect to your router via serial (TX, RX and GND .. VCC not needed), power it up, then type “tpl” until the boot process is halted and you should be at the console. (Each “tpl” you type must be followed by carriage-return/linefeed. If you're running C-Kermit in an Emacs shell buffer under Linux, the carriage-return character is a control-M.)

If you're having problems getting 'tpl' to work, you may need a pull-up resistor inline on the TX side of the connection, see link (broken). The TX pullup is most likely needed in version 2 models of revision B (serial beginning with 215B…), 16MB flash memory. A pull-up resistor also resolved “bleed through” of binary data into the console on an ArcherC7 with a serial number beginning with 2154.

If you find three 220 Ohms resistors and one 150 Ohms resistor in your drawer they will do the trick when put in series. Additionally, if you are puzzled after reading the linked forum post above, this circuit may help (Vcc of the sketched FTDI was set to 3.3V):

Flash backup

I need to remove the Flashchip from the mainboard to connect it to a spi-programmer. I used flashrom (https://flashrom.org) to read out the flash chip. Dont forget to connect the /WP and /RESET Pin to VCC!flashrom -p ft2232_spi:type=openmoko,divisor=2 -r flash-chip-backup.img
Read it two times with different divisors. Then compare both files with diff. The newest Version of flashrom supports both 16M flash chips.

Is some one have a solution to read it in place over jtag? The VCC connection seem to be direct to the power supply. The programmer need to powers all 3.3V components. But then the cpu could start working…

Power Consumption

The included power supply is rated at 2.5A at 12V (30W), but the router does not draw anywhere near the 30 Watts deliverable by that supply. The extra capacity is useful for powering USB devices, however. The following are power measurements taken of an ArcherC7 AC1750 V2.0 measuring current over the DC wires. The AC/DC adapter outputs 12.2V loaded. A Kill-A-Watt power meter was used to confirm the measurements and showed the AC/DC adapter was fairly efficient.

Configuration

Port Map

VLAN Tagging

At least on a v2 device, there are only 128 VLAN “slots” available. If configuration of VLAN tags above 127 is required, the `vid` option will be required. See switch_configuration for further details.

Tagging "WAN" Interface for ISP Connectivity

Note that the WAN port is port #1 and connected to eth0.
To tag the WAN port create the VLAN ID under “Network ⇒ Switch” and assign it to “Port #1” and “Port #6”.
Under “Network ⇒ Interface” edit the “WAN” interface and for its “Physical Settings” use eth0.<VLAN ID>
Example: VLAN ID 7 for German Telekom VDSL would be eth0.7

Photos

WDR7500 v2

: Information on the pinout of JP4 would be helpful

WDR7500 v3

Serial

Archer C5 v2

WDR7500 v2 / ArcherC7v2

WDR7500 v3

Warning!
The labels in the image look wrong (did not actually confirm with real hardware). It should be either VCC, GND, TX, RX or VCC, GND, RX, TX. The second pin has four connections to the surrounding mass, so is GND. The first pin has a capacitor, which points to the fact that it is VCC.

You can use an inexpensive PL2303 USB to UART adapter to connect to this router.

Note: The adapter linked is not officially compatible with Windows 8 and above. You will need an older driver (1.5) for it to work with newer versions of Windows. Be sure to disable automatic driver updates, or else Windows will use the newer, incompatible driver.

It is recommended that you solder a serial header for the most reliable connection, but in case you don't want to solder or you're just trying to quickly unbrick your router without making it obvious that you voided your warranty, male-to-male jumper wires will work.

ArcherC7 v4.0 (US)

I don't know what to really call this. I've been told on IRC that it is more like the WDR-7500. See the label pic and decide for yourself:

Here is a full board pic:

And zoomed in on the chips so they're readable:

In the lower right is the serial header. The first through hole is TX, second RX and third GROUND. There were two missing resistors at R27 and R24. I placed a 10K on R27 and a 1K on R24 (total shot in the dark based on some reading I had done, but it works). The RX through hole didn't seem to be connected to the right side of the R24 pad so it's got a solder bridge. Use 115200, 8N1, no flow control.

(FYI: from TP-Link engineering, R24 = 220R, R27 = 1K)

ArcherC7 v5.0 (EU)

As I didn't have 0402 sized resistors at home, I've used just one 0603 of 180R value.

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